Salalah 2022 Trip

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piotr
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Dear Almosters,
It is difficult to describe or even summarize a 6-day trip packed with action and adventure, but at least I will try to give you some impressions :) In one sentence this would probably sound like WOOOO-HAAAA IT WAS AMAZING!!!

Firstly - it was the location. Salalah is just something different, at least for the 3 summer months when the monsoon comes in. Lush green landscapes, mountains, fog, see, and this special vibe of a festival all-around. You just need to come and see it. We made a "mistake" 3 years ago when we just arrived in Dubai of coming there mid-October - it was nice, but definitely not so special as this time around. And maybe this year the fog was a little denser than normally, limiting the views but in the end - it was part of the experience and it was still awesome!

Secondly - it was @alshamsi_m - our Dear leader, with support of the Crew (@brett, @KIMOz , @Mohanad who worked so tirelessly to ensure safety and the best possible experience for the whole group. Kudos, and big tank you!! This trip would be so different without these years of accumulated expertise and knowledge, going places where very few dare to venture.

Lastly - it was the people - impossible to mention al the situations where the group supported each other, but it was just special. @PedroLeal - thank you for the pull :) @Tomvanhouten , @James @dorudoru guarding the convoy from the back (and sometimes under the cars). All the nice chatter on the radio while driving 1000km in the dark, and following each other closely in the convoy. Great side-chats and mini side adventures, e.g. trying to still find the path to the cave in the fog (@galindakis !), or chasing the convoy in the fog (@luckeym !).

Overall a remarkable and unforgettable trip. Can't wait for the next year (hope I will be able to go)!

A bunch of notes:
- the drive to and back is long and tiring, but it is well worth it :) I am happy I did not miss the night convoy going there (arrived just-in-time for departure due to work) - it's a special (and fun!) experience. Going back I drove alone through the night to spare Karol (my 4yo son) full day of driving - it was also OK, but I would not recommend doing that without prior experience of the road itself (and the driving style).
- the car needs to be in top condition - 4000km of driving, and many harsh offroad paths will put each machine to the test.
- I had a great experience with Karol (I was afraid he will complain a lot, but in the end there was just too much happening for him to be bored), but it was ultimately a good choice for my wife and Olivia (2yo) to stay behind - I think they would not have enjoyed it as much given we spent majority of the 6 days in the car (my wife is not a fan of long drives in general).

See you (again) in the mud!!
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CARLOSS
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Hello everyone!

Even though almost everything has been said in the previous trip reports, I would not like to miss the opportunity to share some thoughts & experiences with you:

Registering and preparation: I was very excited about Salalah’s trip for several reasons but the most important one, I guess, it was the idea of sharing one week with some known and unknown people in the middle of the “jungle” driving all the time...what else could I ask for? ORLY Actually, I planned my holidays based on Salalah’s schedule and requested a NOC from my lovely wife @Flor :in_love: but due to time constrains, I ended up preparing the trip & the car in the same day we left so I was very stressful on Friday the 19th of August serious business as I did not want to forget anything important.

Meeting with friends and the way in: No issues with crossing the boarder and met with my second family in due time. We still have some time to wait for some late birds and celebrate @Viktoriia 's birthday. Then we started our way with hundreds of km in front of us and as reported, everything went well and all reached final destination safe and sound. thumbsup

The adventure: Everything was perfectly planned & executed by the master of the masters @alshamsi_m and even though the weather was challenging most of the days still he managed to squeeze Salalah’s beauty till its last drop. The top 3 list was to me: Secret beach, the cave and when we played in the mud 😊. Unfortunately, there were some secrets gems not reachable or seeable such as the hiking inside the cave, shaat view etc. but I guess that this is a good reason to come back in future editions.

Driving days were demanding mainly due to the weather conditions so we took good care of ourselves when reaching the hotel by having good times with other adventurers, having dinner & sharing the stories of the day.

The way back: This was not easy, at least for me whut . Driving solo is not so good when facing around 1,300km but after drinking several m3 of coffee I managed to arrive safe at home around 2am, meaning around 17hrs of drive in total including some visits and breaks.

The “hangover”: As mentioned by others, it took me 2 full days to recover all the sleep lost during the previous week and even today, I feel a bit tired, but it was worth it 100% blank

Finally, I would like to thank @alshamsi_m for all the time, preparation and efforts when designing and executing this Salalah’s adventure taking care of the time of forty something souls which is not an easy task. Your patience and dedication with us will never be forgotten thumbsup . Same gratitude for the crew @brett @KIMOz and @Mohanad involved in the preparation of the goody bags (amazing & curious stuff inside them => my nanny put the Chinese mosquito repellent in the fridge because she thought it was a drink wtfsmilie ) and the assistance & advices during the drive.

And many thanks for all the adventures and their families who did a great job and enjoyed as much I as did this wonderful experience.

See you soon.
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My dear friend, I am afraid that you still have your headlights quite high as you blinded me for hundreds of km when drying at night in front of you...actually it helped me not to fall asleep Psmiley
mpodroid wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 10:07 am What can I say? Simply and shortly WOW!!

Let’s start from the very beginning: I joined Almost4x4 on 28th of June 2019. No Club Member drives back at that time.

The only drive was Salalah 2019, but I was too late and could only dream it watching pictures and videos of the previous years. I hoped for Salalah 2020 but we got a global pandemic and not more Salalah until early this year. After 3 years, I could finally join Almost4x4 trip in Salalah: I was so happy and excited, I also managed to convince my wife and daughter who are not very keen on adventures nor camping.

Reaching Salalah it is a very long trip, more than 1200 km.

In Spring I started building the storage for the trunk of my Jeep, with my own personal design, so that I can extend it into a bed platform: I can sleep in it, whether it is a night in Liwa, a quick nap after a long drive in the sand before going home or the long night drive to Salalah 2022.

Online visa obtained easily from the Omani Police website. Obtained the Orange Card from my insurance to have proper coverage in Oman, so no need to stop at the border to purchase a temporary insurance.

I added a Dometic CFX3 fridge to have fresh food and cold drinks during the 6 days drives.

Last but no least, for the maximum comfort, a portable folding commode toilet seat and a shower tent to grant proper privacy to my ladies.

Everything was ready as planned, except for my car: few weeks before a serious oil leak suggested a deep check at the dealer: a damaged pulley and seal, but no parts available. Finally and luckily, 4 days before the departure, Ameer at Trading Enterprises managed to find some spare parts for a temporary fix and I could join the convoy,

I left Dubai in the late afternoon and went to the border: the officer at the UAE border complained about my headlights blinding him. I knew there were quite high so I stopped and tried to tune them: I needed a screwdriver, buried in my trunk, under everything else.

I finally managed after 30 minutes and crossed the Omani border: despite some unexpected, I reached the meeting point early, at 9pm. I met all the Almost4x4 friends, we quickly celebrate @Viktoriia birthday and left at 9:30.

Before departing @alshamsi_m reminded us “we are a convoy, we drive with the weakest member. If somebody has a problem, we all stop and support it”. 20 cars is a very big convoy, with families and small kids. We had many stops, including a 2 hours break to have some rest. We arrived in Salalah at 1pm, 16 hours later. I drunk 3 RedBulls to make it.

Then we had 4 great days, driving up and down the mountains, under the rain, in the mud, to the ocean beach and to waterfalls. So far I have 240GB of raw material to review: photos and videos will follow.

One of the incredible aspect of the trip is that no one single car got lost even once in 5 days: a 20 cars convoy is very long (even more than 1 km) especially on the road, where we drive at high speed, with incoming traffic and cars overtaking from the back. One more time: absolutely great planning and organisation.

At the end of this long report, I want to express my deepest thank and gratitude to @alshamsi_m and the crew because every single detail of this trip has been carefully planned and prepared in a way that no professional travel agency could ever reach:
* thanks to our sponsor 4wheelUAE and crew who provided us a great goodie bag
* routes carefully designed to provide a wonderful landscapes, with stops at clean public toilets and gas stations within 500km, so even Jeeps can make with a standard fuel tank


Everything is ready now for Salalah 2023
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osman
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Hello everyone,

I am a bit late to write the report, so will try not to repeat what others said. However, cannot start without thanking @alshamsi_m for such a great week we had.

After this trip, I guess our next level of challenge is to drive blindfolded after so many days of driving in the fog with with a speed that I could not even think.

I don't enjoy plain road driving and usually feel sleepy so I wanted to start with a small break at the beginning, planning to have a small nap after the border crossing so I arrived first to the meeting point almost three hours early but could not manage to have a nap, so ended up more tired at the end!

But wait, it was not quite that tiring after all as we kept ourselves busy on the radio all the time and this was a very different and nice experience. We learned the new protocol and how to go even faster if you are in a convoy. For some reason, radio conversations on the highway kept reminding the very old road movie of Burt Reynold's Smokey and the Bandit.

in four drive days, we covered around 300, 300, 240, 240 kms each day from hotel to hotel. On the third day I was back in the hotel around 9:30 PM and that night I slept like dead, the alarm had a hard time to wake me up.

Unfortunately, like everyone else said, the weather did not allow us to the experience beautiful scenery. Once we go higher than 300-500m, the fog took over and we had to skip some planned sights and drive relatively slower. I am still puzzled how Alshamsi leads in such conditions. Nevertheless, each day had its own joy. Driving in the mud was another experience we had. Swims, water crossings, climbing trees, obstacle courses (cows and camels on road) were additional funs of the trip. I am sure everyone will be looking at the photos and videos in the future and remind themselves how good it was, unforgettable memories...

Staying in the same hotel was also a good idea as it was easy to catch-up, eat, drink after the shower, a little bit more "civilized" than the usual camp fire.

On the way back home, we chose to drive extra 100+km taking the scenic coastal road and that was another bonus which I would recommend in the future trips. I did not ask if it was a shortcut or just for fun, at some point we deviated from the main road and drove inside a wadi for a while to add some more spice to the drive and made the scenic part even more enjoyable. Another hats off to Alshamsi for knowing the off-road paths in another country in such detail. I guess if someone steals the data of his GPS, he would be very rich by selling it.

I reached back home at almost 2AM after 16.5 hours of solid driving, with lots of insect bites - maybe even some of their eggs inside my skin - tired but happy. Again, big thanks to @alshamsi_m to make it happen and the great lead, sharing the knowledge and experience; @Mohanad for the second lead and along with @KIMOz and @brett for organizing the event behind the scenes as crew team.
Last edited by osman on Fri Sep 02, 2022 9:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
Warning: Sand is addictive... and also the sea salt.
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Salalah, a place that i never visited and never thought of visiting even though i was born in the gulf and lived my whole life here. Many almosters spoke about it and then a trip is published, why not, its with the best club, for sure it will be an amazing trip.

The arrangement started by deciding which car to go with, the offroad ready Jeep or the family friendly city ready Patrol. Long discussions with Bu Salem and only few days prior the trip the decision was made to get All Terrain tires on the patrol and get ready to lose the front bumper. This decision was made to make sure family is comfortable during the long road drive and to make sure no surprises arise.

Friday is full working day for me, so i had to miss the convoy moving at night and travel alone Saturday early morning. Smooth and comfortable drive until we started to approach Salalah where a bit of sand was hovering till we started climbing the mountain where fog and rain started. Temperature dropped by more than 20 degrees, green areas, trees and rainbow, cant ask for more.

We went to the hotel, spacious rooms, very clean and well maintained, met few almosters and right to bed.

Next day early morning, the whole family is awake ahead of time. Getting ready for heavy breakfast and iff we go with our hiking gear and needed rain coats.

First sight, an amazing cave next to the beach. Strong waves and light fog, wow, this is amazing. Off we go, site after site, and then we go to a place where the water is super clear and thats where most of almosters could not resist to jump to water and swim.

Back to the hotel and day after day, amazing springs, caves, rain all the place and foggy in most cases. And lets not forget the off-roading, yes we went off the roads over many rivers and we crossed many muddy areas. Yes we got our cars extremely dirty to a level we had to wash it every night.
At least 200 km everyday and total of 3700 km in one week, i never thought i can do so.

Back to dubai after having an extra day in the city to make sure we do not miss anything and we enjoy the weather to the maximum.

Its almsot one week so far and till now i do not believe we were in the Gulf next to the empty quarter.

Great trip, very well organized thanks to the club founders, crew and all marshals. I do highly recommend this trip but be aware of these tiny creatures (mosquitoes alike) you will struggle for few days after you come back until your skin heal.

Enjoy the videos

korym
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First i am sorry for late report


Second i can't find the proper word to describe that amazing trip with amazing people in that great club

i was with Almost 4x4 as a passenger since 5 -6 years back not as a member and i participate in some trips with members, and once i got my Pajero i joined as a member

later on Salalah Trip announcement and i discovered that i'm in front of great challenge for such trip and for my little kids ( Yousef 2.9 Years and Tala 9 Months old) which will be exhausted for them, but thanks to @alshamsi_m and @piotr that gave my full image about what expected during the trip

after very short discussion with my wife we decide to go ahead and be in Salalah 2022 Adventure to let ourselves and our kids communicate more with the club


organizing was very good and helpful starting from the Orientation Meeting, documents for the trip, Sharing knowledge about last trips and current situation for Visa requirements and what needed for the trip

i would like to thank the club and specially @KIMOz @brett @Mohanad for great goodie bag it was nice and helpful

Road trip was exhausting as expecting but thanks the we got sleep at Hima 2 z Z 2 z Z 2 z Z

Salalah it self can't be described in words or photos you have to visit it to know t and see how beautiful it is

First 2 days Salalah was against us it was so foggy i was enjoying driving but kids wanna play outside as usual and feel exhausted from long day drives, but from time to time we can see the beauty of Salalah and take unforgettable shots.

Third Day unfortunately we decide to take a rest because kids was so tired i advise @alshamsi_m and he recommend to take the third day off and join the fourth day better and he was right about that
i just miss the hidden beach adventure TT TT TT TT

Fourth day was amazing one with little foggy weather and beautiful views all of us enjoyed to the max that day

Driving back to UAE was very nice specially with the Ocean Road it was great view for almost 2 Hours during our trip

we come safely to border at 12.00 AM and reach home 2.00 AM and i need to go to office 7.00 AM for emergency work (i was like Zombie at office grin ).

at the end what i'm really happy about for that adventure that i know you more and get more connected to the club and members and i really appreciate everyone working hard to made that adventure happen


Thanks Every One
Thanks Almost 4x4

Finally this is greeting from Yousef to all of you




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